White Sox: Who will earn backup catcher spot?

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Mar 28, 2014; Birmingham, Al, USA; Birmingham Barons catcher Kevan Smith (21) attempts to tag Chicago White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie (12) at Regions Field. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

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Kevan Smith
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6-4
Weight: 230 pounds

Smith has yet to reach the MLB level since being drafted by the White Sox in ’11. He played the ’14 season with the Double-A Birmingham Barons, batting .290 in 106 games.

In those games, Smith had 389 at-bats, where he totaled 113 hits with 21 doubles, three triples and 10 home runs. With those hits, he collected 48 RBIs. Smith also forced 46 walks and struck out 68 times.

Before the ’14 season Smith played two seasons in Winston-Salem with the Dash, where he had batting averages of .273 ’12 and .286 in ’13. In those two seasons of Advanced Single-A baseball, Smith totaled 15 home runs, 30 doubles and five triples in 124 total games.

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Also in the parts of two Advanced-A seasons, he scored 74 runs and collected 96 RBIs.

Like with Kottaras, I just don’t see Smith at the MLB level this seasons with players like Nieto and Brantly in front him on a White Sox team that is in win-now mode.

One plus with Smith is he’s fairly consistent at whatever level he’s playing at. In Kannapolis Single-A baseball, he has a .282 average in 86 games during the ’12 season. In ’11, he batted .396 in 26 games at Bristol and .318 at Great Falls, both rookie ball levels.

I’m not saying Smith won’t make the MLB roster at some point this season, but with the current mindset and look of the White Sox roster for the upcoming ’15 season, it most likely will be an uphill climb for Smith.

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